Absolutely stunning views rescue this trip, but the Hualupai milk their monopoly mercilessly and stupidly. It should be easy to put on enough buses to minimise queues, but they don’t, so you can stand for ages in the heat, and the whole layout of the operation, particularly at the entry station, seems designed to herd the unsuspecting traveller to a point of no return. After that, every stage is either closed, or offers terrible food and expensive drinks, served by people who apparently wish they weren’t there. The whole place seems to be an employment scheme for the few Hualupai who lack the gumption to leave the reservation. It could be amazing, and it really is unmissable, but my goodness they try to ruin it for you. More than anything, they need to pretend they have some competition and start trying a bit harder: they could treble their throughput and keep everyone happy. Don’t hold your breath.
Still, at least my daughters now understand why monopolies are bad.